Alameda Research withdrew more than $200 million from FTX.US before filing for bankruptcy, according to analysis by blockchain firm Arkham Intelligence published Nov. 25.
In a Twitter thread, Arkham revealed that FTX’s sister company Alameda Research withdrew $204 million from eight different FTX US addresses in a variety of crypto assets, most of them stablecoins, in the last few days before the crash.
Arkham analyzed flows from FTX US in the final few days before the collapse, finding that Alameda withdrew the most funds, at $204M.
Below is a diagram of withdrawals to Arkham-identified entities from FTX US.
nb This thread regards FTX US assets only, not FTX International. pic.twitter.com/QFPVlVIWhO
—arkham | Crypto Intelligence (@ArkhamIntel) November 25, 2022
Among the funds withdrawn, $116 million, or 57.1%, was in US dollar-based stablecoins, including USDT, USDC, BUSD, and TUSD. Arkham’s analysis also showed that $49.49 million (24.2%) of the funds were in Ether (ETH), and $38.06 million, or 18.7%, were in Bitcoin (wBTC) wrapper.
“The withdrawn wBTC was sent to the Alameda WBTC Merchant wallet, and then moved in its entirety to the Bitcoin blockchain,” Arkham said, adding that of the $204 million transferred, $142.4, or 69%, was sent to wallets. owned by FTX International, “suggesting that Alameda may have been operating as a bridge between the two entities.”
Of the Ether transferred, $35.52 million was sent to FTX and $13.87 million was sent to an active trading wallet. The firm noted that “it is unknown if the nearly $14 million in ETH was sent to 0xa20 as part of an operation, or as an internal funds transfer within Alameda.”
Another $10.4 million was sent to the rival exchange; Binance.
In the initial bankruptcy filing with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, FTX’s new CEO, John Ray III, described the situation as the worst he had seen in his business career, noting the “complete failure of corporate controls” and the absence of reliable financial information.
Some 130 FTX Group companies – including FTX Trading, FTX US, under West Realm Shires Services, and Alameda Research – filed for bankruptcy in the United States on November 11, following a “liquidity crisis” after a series of tweets will trigger a massive sale of FTX Token.
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